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Authors

About the Speaker

Vadim Rygalov is an Associate Professor of Life Sciences and Life Support at UND Space Studies Department. His current research interests include study for hybrid bio-regenerative life support approaches in long-duration autonomous space missions and role of Human Factor as a major control element for such systems functional stability. He joined Space Studies in 2004. Before that he worked as a Research Associate at NASA Kennedy Space Center Space Life Sciences Laboratory (SLSLab) on Martian Deployable Greenhouse project.

More than decade Vadim worked within Russian Space Program on functional optimization of long-term Closed Ecological System (CES) for Life Support (LS) BIOS-3 known around the globe as one of the most stable bio-regenerative life support systems. He earned his Ph.D. in ecological biophysics in 1987 within the area of intersection between marine sciences and controlled cultivation of water organisms (for industrial purposes), participating at the same time between 1972 and 1987 years in number of tests on human adaptation to extreme environments.

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Description

Prolonged stays in space environments expose human subjects to multiple stressors with different effects and consequences for human physiology and psychological conditions. Some of those effects are well known and countermeasures developed, other ones are still uncertain and study can’t be considered as sufficient. Inspiration Mars private initiative currently is proposing to send a two-person crew on a round trip flyby mission to Mars in 2018.

Adding a human component to a Mars flyby exploratory by nature mission offers unique opportunities for exposure astronauts to the deep space environments. At the same time physiological limitations for human subjects and life support technology as well as human factors science aspects of such a mission are not clear yet. This presentation will focus on preliminary evaluation of the deep space manned missions Human Factors (HF) science aspects and assessment of potential scientific outcome from this ‘bold endeavor’ - class exploratory missions.